Madison County Cookbooks . . .

are
a real taste of cooking from the 'heart' of the Heartland -- Madison County, Iowa. Madison County is also the birthplace of John Wayne and home of the picturesque Covered Bridges, the locale for the popular Bridges of Madison County by Robert Waller.

Madison County Cookbook is an effort spearheaded by the members of St. Joseph’s Parish and friends in Madison County, offering a unique look at a small community where the simple values of faith, family, and friends have not been forgotten. Here you will find the recipes that are family favorites reflective of the heartland, an amalgam of different nationalities which have been passed from one generation to another and evoke warm and happy memories when served to family and special guests. Over five hundred different recipes are featured, often with a story behind them. Many are old-fashioned down-home country recipes starting from scratch; others come from ethnic backgrounds. A wide spectrum is included: applesauce cake to marinade for pork chops, meatless main dishes, decadent desserts, home breads, …. many of them used in family festivals and on holidays.

Author Robert Waller wrote:The Bridges of Madison County

As hard as it is to get a group of people to do anything well one has to acknowledge that hundreds of different families from rural Madison county Iowa who all came together to help author several fascinating books that are rapidly growing in popularity all over the world. These families and individuals collaborated on several award winning cookbooks so big each one is close to 500 pages long and they did so brilliantly.

These same people have provided a very intimate look into the everyday lives of these average rural Americans and their unique traditions. These different books allow outsiders a brief but insightful glimpse into a rapidly disappearing culture of rural America and Midwestern culture that has developed over the last years into what it is today.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church spearheaded an effort on behalf of the community to put together several of these special cookbooks that would represent some of the down home Midwestern traditions found here in Iowa. The result is several great cookbooks that contain real family traditions & of course recipes and stories that will be cherished by all who pick up one of these cookbooks.